Issue No: 06/2025

Conflict & Resilience Monitor – 31 July 2025

The Conflict and Resilience Monitor offers monthly blog-size commentary and analysis on the latest conflict-related trends in Africa.

Photo Credit: AMISOM/Ilyas Ahmed

Our July edition of the Monitor pays tribute to the founding Editor of ACCORD’s African Journal on Conflict Resolution (AJCR), Prof. Jannie Malan, who passed away this month. The Founder and Executive Director, Dr Gounden, reflects on the immense contribution made by Prof. Malan at ACCORD and in the field of peace studies.

Dr Linda Darkwa’s articles offers insights on strategies to advance gender equality, and makes a case for why the militarisation of peace operations can be viewed as an opportunity to advance gender equality.

Dr Fiifi Edu-Afful, writes about the withdrawal of United Nations’ (UN) peacekeeping missions, particularly in Africa, which have raised pertinent questions about what follows once the UN has exited. He makes a case for a need to end the side-lining of African regional organisations/mechanisms in regional stability after departure of UN operations.

The last article in this edition is written by Boikanyo Nkwatle and deals with one of the important aspects in South Africa’s election cycle, which is the demarcation of ward boundaries ahead of the local government elections in 2026. In addition to reflecting about the state of local government politics in South Africa, the article also provides an overview of processes and outcomes of some of the ward delineations that are currently underway in the country.

Chief Editor: Conflict & Resilience Monitor​
Assistant Editor: Conflict & Resilience Monitor​
Photo Credit: ACCORD
Leadership

Remembering Professor Jannie Malan

  • Vasu Gounden

On 23 June 2025 we said goodbye to Professor Jannie Malan—a founding pillar of ACCORD’s Research Department, a revered scholar of peace, and, above all, a deeply compassionate human being.

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Photo Credit: U.S. Army/1st Lt. Ian B. Shay
Peacekeeping

Leveraging Military Capabilities for the Promotion of Gender in Contemporary African Peace Operations

  • Linda Akua Opongmaa Darkwa

The effective implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in African peace operations requires strategic pragmatism. Rather than viewing militarisation as antithetical to gender equality, it can serve as an opportunity to embed gender sensitivity into the core of peace operations.

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Photo Credit: UN/Harandane Dicko
Peacekeeping

Whose Exit Strategy? Why Regional Voices Matter in UN Transitions

  • Fiifi Edu-Afful

The United Nations (UN) and its peacekeeping missions are currently at critical crossroads. One structural obstacle with most UN transitions is the sidelining of African regional organizations.

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Photo Credit: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp
Elections

The Demarcation Board at a Crossroads: Three Decades of Democracy and the 2026 Elections

  • Boikanyo Nkwatle

Despite 30 years of democracy in South Africa, many municipalities still face challenges due to the legacy of apartheid, such as constrained transformation, social injustice, and persistent inequality, all of which undermine the effectiveness and legitimacy of local governance.

Read More

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